Teachers union approves deal

OCEANSIDE -- Local teachers have overwhelmingly approved a new
contract deal from the Oceanside Unified School District. Educators
will receive a raise of about 5 percent next year.

The new deal is a bit less sweet for teachers than the nearly 10
percent raises they received last year. But both the teachers union
and the district have said the contract will help the Oceanside
Unified School District continue to recruit and keep educators as
the state enters an expected teacher shortage.

The average teacher salary next year will be $54,360 in
Oceanside, about $6,000 more than average earnings last year.
Oceanside's average salary has historically been about $2,000 more
than the state average and the average in the neighboring district
of Carlsbad.

Combined with wage increases last year, teacher salaries have
risen nearly 15 percent in two years.

District leaders were happy to wrap up the negotiations so that
they won't have salary issues hanging over their heads as they
start a new school year in August, said Joe Graybeal, associate
superintendent for the district.

"If questions about salaries are still hanging out there when
you start school, it can be distracting for everybody," Graybeal
said. "Now that it is out of the way, everyone can focus on the
task at hand, which is educating our children."

The 1,250 or so teachers in the union, called the Oceanside
Teachers Association, voted last week on the proposed deal. Though
final vote tallies were unavailable Wednesday, both the district
and the union called the approval "overwhelming."

"It's safe to say it was way more than a simple majority," said
Connie Egan of the association. The district's board of trustees is
scheduled to officially approve the agreement next week.